Even if you are a Facebook veteran chances are you do not know all the nooks and crannies of your homepage. Recently someone posted the alarming note that they had just discovered a secret folder full of Facebook messages that they had never seen. It is likely that many more among the 1.1 billion users of Facebook are unaware of the folder called 'Other'. If you have no time to read further, here's the bottom line: Go to your Facebook page. In the left-side panel, click Messages.

There, next to the boldfaced word 'Inbox', you see a light gray word 'Other'. Click it to see your hidden stash of messages. You might be surprised at how much important stuff has been waiting for you there. It turns out that the 'Other' folder is part of Facebook's weird $1-a-message program. If you try to send a message to someone who is not one of your Facebook friends, a dialogue box appears. It offers you two choices: either pay $1, or condemn your message to that 'Other' folder.

The program may not be quite as ham-handedly greedy as it seems; Facebook explains that this program is intended to eliminate spam. By limiting Inbox-bound traffic to messages from people you actually know (and people who've paid a dollar), Facebook can better ensure that you'll never see junk messages there. That is fine, but then why should the 'Other' folder be so buried. You don't get any kind of alert or notification when new messages arrive there. And, as you now know, it takes two knowledgeable clicks to find it; which is why you probably didn't even know your 'Other' folder existed.